Improvement in reaping-machines



J. H. ELWARD.

Reaping Machine.

No. 44.858 Patented, Nov.- 1, 1884.

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JOHN H. ELI/VARI), OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND' VILLIAM H. W. OUSHMAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN REAPINGlVlACl-HNE Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,855, dated November l, 1864.

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN H. ELWARD, of Ottawa, in the county ot' La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Reaping-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, Aand exact description of the construc tion and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ot' this specitcat-ion, in which- Figure lrepresents a top view. Fig. 2 represents a side view. Fig. 3 represents a sectional view of hook U.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct this machine, I will give the following description of my invention.

A platform, I, is to be attached in the rear ot' the ringer or cutting bar ot' a reaping-machine. Itisattachedbymeansofandsuppcrted by arms A and B, Fig. l. The arm A is attached to the shoe or other arrangement which supports the inner end ofthemowingbar. The arm B faslens into the divider-shoe atthe outerextremity ofthe cutting-bar. Itis intended that this platform shall rake the grain as it falls upon it to the end, whence it is deposited inthe hooks X, as shown in Fig. 2. Heretofore the raking apparatus has been driven by the main driving-wheels of the reaping-machine, thereby so incumbering the machine with gearing for raking purposes as to make it nearly or wholly uni-it to be ot use.` Now, I propose to overcome this difficulty by making theplatform operateits own machinery, which I do in the following manner: First, by the arrangement ot the wheel O, through which passes the shaft I), upon the end ot' which is attached the bevel-gear E. This meshes into the bevelgear F, which is secured tothe end of the shaft Gr, which passes into and is fastened firmly in roller H. This wheel() carries, when moving forward, the whole,\veight ot' platform I, the weight of which causes the wheel to revolve, which, by the means of the gears E and F, causes the roller H to revolve, thereby causing the endless belts J J J and S S S to move said belts, also operating rollers K and L. The belts J J J, moving lengthwise over the platform, receive the grain as it falls upon the platform, hold it tirmly'hy means of the pins R RR, and convey it to the roller H, where it is received by the belts S S S, being held at the same time by the pins T T T, by which it is conveyed up the inclined plane to the top ot' roller L, when it is deposited on the hooks X.

Upon the small platform Y, I station two men, one at each extremity, who take the grain from hooks X XX X and place it in the hooks U U, for the purpose of binding. By this arrangement one man is able to do the work that three men usually do when they take the grain from the ground, as they have nothing to do but stand upon the platform Y and make their band until the bundle becomes of sufficient size, when they pass the band around the bundle, lifting it from the hooks XXX X, depositing it in the hooks U U, when the hand may be drawn without removing their hands from the bundle. When the band is fastened the bundle, by a slight motion, is tipped from the hook and falls upon the ground, out of the way ofthe machine. By these means a large amount ot' labor is saved. Now, the shaft of the wheel O being immovable, which it must be in order to cause the wheel O to drive the rollers and belts, in

turning the machine the wheel O would beV having any weight upon it, but whenin turning the machine around it isnecessary to take the weight o the wheel O, I do so by the lever V, which is attached to loop 2 in one ot' the supporting-braces of wheel O. The lever V then passes over the top of said braces otl wheel A, and when it is necessary to turn the machine around, one of the nien who -hind depresses the outer end of the lever V, thus depresses the swivel-wheel Q, raises the wheel O, and the machine turns upon the swivelwheel Q, thereby avoiding all damage which otherwise might be done to wheel O or the other parts ot' the machinery.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, what I claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the rollers K, H, and

2 A Mese substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of the rollers K H L and their endless aprons, with the hooks X and U, when constructed and operated substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

J. H. ELWARD.

In presence of T. R. COURTNEY, A. LYNCH. 

